Disaster Averted
by Dira02
Summary: Nathan Scott needs to marry Haley James. They both absolutely loathe each other, but this deal can't be missed out on. Like any business deal, the marriage is also laden with conditions and ambiguous clauses; and of course, some unexpected results. Do they manage to avert this disaster of a marriage? Or is it going to be messier than ever?
1. Chapter One

**Disclaimer : I own nothing. Not One Tree Hill, not the characters, not the place, not the planet, not the universe. Absolutely nothing. I do own the dream that I may get to meet James Lafferty someday ****- but that's another discussion.**

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**CHAPTER ONE**

_"A Proposal for Disaster..."_

"You need to marry me."

It wasn't a sweet romantic question; it wasn't an offer; it wasn't a suggestion. It was simply Nathan Scott being the pompous arrogant jerk that he always was.

"Excuse me?" Haley said, spluttering most of her coffee on herself.

Nathan sighed loudly before looking at her with an expression that would make anyone believe that Haley was the one here making senseless remarks.

"You. Need. To. Marry. Me." He enunciated each word carefully.

She couldn't believe it. He was bloody _commanding_ her to marry him. Was he nuts or was he playing his usual game of 'let's tease Haley'? She couldn't guess.

"Nathan, you want _me_ to marry_ you_?

"No," he shrugged. "I _need_ you to marry me."

She was two seconds away from ripping his neck wide apart and grinding his skull into a juice. "You have two seconds. Explain. Or die," she gritted out.

His eyes shot wide open at her threat. What was wrong with _her_?

Her stern look didn't seem to diminish, so he didn't waste another moment.

"Alright, you know how much I want to launch a company, right?" She nodded, unsure of where he was headed to.

"Well," he continued. "I believe that I can actually start one up now. I've got the idea, and also a list of probable clients. The location, the whole line-up – I got everything outlined. But,"

She knew there was a_ but_.

"But the one thing that I don't seem to possess is really the major obstacle I've got going on right now," he spoke solemnly making Haley almost believe in his words. But something still didn't add up.

"And marrying me would solve that how?" she quizzed him.

"Don't get excited, Hales. It isn't an option."

Was he seriously joking right now? If that was the tone he was going to use, then he can forget her assistance or whatever.

"The major obstacle is the money. Capital is what I lack. And before you start overworking your brain; Dan has decided to not lend me even a single penny for the company. He thinks, and I quote, I 'waste too much money on useless shit'." Nathan flailed his hands upwards as though his dad said something completely ridiculous – which was _not_ the case.

"He's right, though. But what's the marriage equation?"

"Right, so Dad has this trust fund set up for me ever since I was a child. The money is absolutely ludicrous. But the only way I gain access to it is to marry someone for a year. And since my ex-girlfriends denied – well, a lot of them just cursed as soon as they picked up the phone and hung up right back – that leaves me with my only option. You."

"Me?" Haley exclaimed. Her mouth was slightly open as she tried to absorb this truck-load of news.

He nodded and gauged her reaction. She seemed to be taking quick short breaths to calm herself down. The shock and confusion blended in and was evident on her face. He paused for a minute before adding, "You get something out of it too."

Haley leaned back in her seat. "What?"

"Half of the money," Nathan replied nonchalantly. "Half a million."

"Half a –" she gasped at the amount. That was_ huge_._ Even_ for Dan Scott. She looked at Nathan who, too, leaned back in his seat with his arms folded. He wasn't wearing any look of dismay or of surprise or of hesitation. He simply sat there, looking at her, waiting for her to say something.

She thought about the entire situation and the absurdness of it. Nathan Scott was the arrogant, self-obsessed jerk who taunted her and made fun of her since kindergarten through high school. Being in the same group of friends made it worse. They had to bear each other at every hang-out and party and get-together. And now, a year after college – when she finally thinks he's gone for good except for the occasional meet – he comes back with a marriage proposal – no, marriage _command _in some café where he requested her to arrive. Urgent, he said.

It was utterly absurd.

Marriage with Nathan Scott? No way. No fucking way. Nope. A definite _no_.

"It gets over within a year?" she asked despite herself.

"Yes. We need to be the idealistic couple in love for a year, and then we get a divorce as soon as I get my money."

"You won't get the money in advance?" she asked, bewildered.

"No. Of course not. It's _Dan_, Hales. He has probably estimated every possible move which I could make to get the money. Which is exactly why I need you to for this. You're believable and you aren't like my exes. I honestly believe that we can pull this off – but I really need your complete support in this."

"Nathan, I –"

"Please, Hales. Please. It's a year, and I know how much it really matters to you. But with the money you could really catch up with your job. You're talented. You'll get into any place you want. But this company is the only chance I have." Nathan paused for a while. "It's the only thing which is going to make me, _me_. Not someone who is known as _Dan Scott's son_."

Haley looked at him with sincere care. She knew how much he struggled to be known for his own talent and skills. Nathan Scott wasn't a man who depended on others. She could see that he really wanted this.

But then she had plans for herself. And it wasn't about the money either. It was about being married to man whom she loathed all her life; and she had her job and her family to think about too.

She studied his face and could distinctly make out how desperate he was for his dream. She had never seen him this pleading for anything in his life. _He really did want this,_ she thought.

This wasn't going to be easy – and she could already sense the cloud of turmoil approaching her.

Smiling a little, she said softly, "Okay."

Nathan couldn't believe it. _She said yes!_ She agreed. His grin was full blown and he couldn't conceal his excitement.

"But, I need a proper proposal," she smirked at him. Two can play this game.

He looked surprised but the grin was remained full-fledged. He got up from his seat and walked over to hers. He knelt down and pulled out a black box from his pocket. He had to be prepared for everything.

Everyone in the café, including Haley, looked stunned and happy at the same time. Haley didn't think he would actually propose, let alone with a ring. Yet, she couldn't stop the squeal that emitted when he knelt down.

All eyes were on them when Nathan asked, "Haley James, will you marry me?"

Now, although it seemed real and true, she wasn't going to kiss him or cry tears of joy or anything. It was, after all, an act. But she could not disappoint the viewers, could she? A little compromise on both sides wouldn't hurt anybody.

She smiled again. "Yes, I will."

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**A/N : Yes this sounds very cliché, _but_ (yes, there's always a 'but') I really want to try this plot for our favourite couple. So, what say? Should I or should I not? **


	2. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer : No, I still don't own anything related to One Tree Hill. **

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**CHAPTER TWO**

_"Blue…"_

Nathan's blue orbs studied his brother's face. The stagnancy of any particular reaction was absent. Lucas Scott displayed a wide range of emotions at one go – starting from shock to disbelief to hilarity to confusion to stupor to anger to being _blank_.

Maybe the news must have shocked him. Maybe the idea of Haley being married to him disgusted him. Until high school, Nathan had always believed that the two harbored secret feelings for each other, but when they both scrunched up their faces in utter disgust and yelled at Nathan's suggestion that they should 'hook up', Nathan was pretty much convinced that nothing could ever occur between the two.

_How do two people of the opposite sex _just _be friends? Weird, _he often used to say.

"So Haley?" Lucas finally responded.

Nathan shrugged. "Yeah."

Lucas nodded before taking a sudden punch across his younger brother's jaw. He totally caught him off-guard, causing Nathan to stumble backwards as he held his face in hurt.

"What the fuck, man! What did you do that for?" Nathan yelled, bewildered.

"Are you crazy? It is Haley you're talking about. _The_ Haley whom you always hated; _the_ Haley whom you always poked fun at; _the_ Haley with whom you can't stay with alone for even an hour. You're going to destroy her life?" Lucas spoke, angrily, flailing his arms.

Was his brother seriously backing up Haley's innocence now instead of appreciating his _brilliant_ idea? He couldn't believe it.

"Destroy – what? I am truly offended right now," Nathan said, nursing his jaw. "And that hurt like hell, Pucas."

"First off, shut up. Secondly, you deserved that punch."

"I am not doing anything without her permission. I didn't force her. _She said yes_!" Now it was Nathan's turn to flail his arms upwards in frustration.

"She agreed?"

Nathan took a seat on the lounge chair and closed his eyes, forcing the pain to subside. "Yes. _On her own_. Call her up if you don't believe me. I offered her half a million, too."

"Half of the money? Wow," Lucas led out a breath as he sat back in the other lounge chair.

"Yes. And I won't make her do anything against her wishes, either. You should know that by now," Nathan said, turning his face towards Lucas who nodded. Except for the usual jabbing at each other, neither Nathan nor Haley ever offended them in any other way.

After a long pause, Lucas finally said, "So, little brother, you're getting married, huh?" He smirked at his younger brother.

Nathan led out a soft laugh. "Can you believe it? I always thought you'd go first."

"Don't hurt her, Nate. And I mean it. She's the best," Lucas said after chuckling along.

The two brothers remained in silence for a long time, each leaving the other to mull over their own thoughts.

Suddenly, a random thought popped into Nathan's mind which had him grinning like a Cheshire cat. "I wonder what it's like to kiss her."

"Did you even listen –"

* * *

Haley let the water run down her body. The warm water soothed her stress. This _marriage thing_ was seriously eating up her mind. She hadn't told the news to any of her family members. She figured they'd want a proper ceremony. They wouldn't understand the lack of time or, more importantly, the whole idea behind it. She wanted this to be as unreal as possible – not that she worried about falling in love with Nathan. _I mean come on, it's Nathan_, she thought.

She wasn't sure whether this was going to be the right decision or not. Sure she wanted to help him out in overcoming this roadblock, but marriage was a really special topic for her. She never pictured it like this – she wasn't the fairytale wedding type, either; but the whole idea seemed too sacrosanct to be messed around with.

But then again, half a million dollars would really give her an advantage in implementing one of her dreams. She had always wanted to establish a primary school in Tree Hill which she would later, perhaps, expand into a secondary school. Ever since she was a child, she loved teaching. Naturally, it was the perfect idea.

However now, she was conflicted as hell. She kept on mentally debating on the topic. But she gave her word, and like it or not, she had to stick to it. She wasn't one to go back on her word.

Turning the knob, she stepped out of the shower and walked over to the marble counter. Picking up a towel, she dried herself off before slipping on a blue set of underwear. She wrapped her damp hair in a towel, and opened the bathroom door. She stepped out dressed in only the underwear.

Suddenly, she shrieked and rushed back inside the bathroom. She locked it shut, before yelling. "Nathan! What are you doing here?"

Nathan, who was comfortably placed on Haley's bed before she emitted that deafening noise after stepping out, paused for a while before answering. He hadn't even looked at her properly. She sprinted inside so swiftly. "Your roommate let me in," he said, walking a few steps towards the bathroom.

"Rachel?"

"No, Santa," Nathan's remarked sarcastically.

Haley rolled her eyes from behind the door. He was _so_ annoying. "Does she even know you?"

He scratched the back of his neck and smirked. "_Know_ would be a decent way to term it."

She thought for a minute. "Ew! That's – that's' –"

"What? She was in good in bed. It was a one-time thing. And now, she wants more. _Of course_, she would let me in." He shrugged.

"You are disgusting," she said, shuddering at the thought of her roommate and _fiancé_.

"Well, you're going to be married to _this_ disgusting guy. Might as well get used to it," he said as a matter-of-factly. "And that reminds me why I came. Be there at the registrar office at eight tomorrow."

"What!" she yelled again as she opened the door all of a sudden. "You cannot be serious." Somehow, the fact that she was standing in front of Nathan, simply clothed in her underwear, oddly escaped from her mind.

Nathan was taken aback at her sudden appearance. He subtly let his eyes roam over her body before answering, "In order for this to end quickly, we need to begin soon," he said, regaining his composure.

She bit her lip before replying. "Fine."

"I need to go now. Don't be late. Call me if you need a lift." He couldn't afford to stay there any longer. Who knew her curves were more defined now than when she was in college? And on top of that, she was biting her lip. A second longer and Nathan would have surely acted on his libido.

He walked towards the door to her room, before turning around. This time he didn't bother to hide that he was checking her out.

"By the way, Hales, you should totally wear this on our wedding night."

She looked down at herself and immediately rushed to the bathroom. "Jerk!" she yelled one last time only to be responded with a loud laughter.

_Blue was _so_ her color_, he thought, smirking.

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**A/N : Thank you to all those who wanted this to continue. The idea sounds pretty redundant, but I hope you'll be patient. After all, we all love a cheesy Naley. ;)**

**GottaluvNaley , naleyhumor ****, 94 **** and the guest reviewers and all the followers and, of course, the readers - Thanks a lot. You're the best!**


	3. Chapter Three

**Disclaimer: Nope. Still don't own One Tree Hill.**

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**CHAPTER THREE**

_"Here Comes the Bride…"_

Nathan exited out of the building with Haley and Lucas trailing behind. He was now officially married. He had a wife now. Even if it was all for fake purposes, it still felt real. The whole idea of being married – which once seemed alien to him – was now something that he had to deal with. The responsibilities, the change in his _manwhoring _ways – everything needed to be refined. And that scared him. A lot.

It wasn't a lavish wedding with a proper ceremony and the works. All they had to do was sign few documents on paper, in front of the registrar and a witness (a post Lucas ended up filling).

That was all there was to it.

Oh, and there was a kiss too.

The kiss wasn't passionate or full-of-emotions or any of the romantic crap Lucas warned him about. It was just – a kiss. But there was one thing he could not deny even if he attempted to – Haley definitely knew how to kiss. He could still taste the cherry flavor of her lip-gloss on his own lips. The kiss was chaste and _rhythmic_ – a feeling he hadn't really experienced in a _long time_ when it came to, well, kissing women. He could vaguely remember the last time a kiss had a lasting impact on him.

He opened the door to his car and sat behind the wheel. He waited for Haley and Lucas to enter before starting the ignition and driving towards the greatest – and the most important – test that awaited them.

Lucas sat in the front seat beside Nathan, and turned back to smile at Haley which she gladly returned. He had seen the kiss. And now, couldn't stop his thoughts from flooding his mind. When Nathan asked him, he agreed to be the witness. He, however, did offer some skepticism regarding the idea but decided to go along with it anyway after much assurance from his younger entire idea of Nathan and Haley being married for some deal just didn't sit well with him. And though he didn't offer further comments, but couldn't help but think about that strong inkling that penetrated his mind. He honestly wished there were other options, but after going through the documents of Nathan's trust fund – he realized that this was the only plausible one. A messy option, but the only plausible one.

Haley leaned back in her seat and rested her eyes for a second. She was married now. She still couldn't fathom the possibility of _it_ being true. The dressing up in a yellow and ivory sundress instead of a white gown, the signing of documents instead of standing at the altar, the presence of Lucas only as a witness instead of her family and friends around her – everything seemed so out of place and pretentious. She wanted to cry out in disbelief – but she kept on reminding herself how it was her decision and how she couldn't (_wouldn't_, rather) back out of it now.

Opening her eyes, she looked at Nathan's reflection in the rearview mirror and couldn't help but think about the kiss with Nathan. It was the only aspect of the _wedding_ that wasn't pretentious. It wasn't passionate or The Notebook-_ish_ either, though. It was just – _something that she experienced before_.

And she wondered if he felt the same.

_"Oof," Haley muttered. She backed away from the body that she just bumped into. "Sorry," she said. She thought the backyard would provide some relief from the chaotic atmosphere back inside the house. She should have known, though. A Nathan Scott party defined chaos – whether inside the house or in the backyard. She reminded herself to kill Brooke for dragging her here. _

_"Woah! Hales? You look hot," Nathan said, smirking at the girl who just bumped into him. Unfortunately for Nathan, he knew he wasn't lying. _

_Haley gasped when she realized that she just collided with the jackass himself. She really wanted to take back the apology she offered to him. _The nerve of the guy to comment on how hot she looked. Does he take me to be one of his fan girls?_ She thought angrily._

_"Excuse me? Do you really have to be such an asshole all the time?" she said, putting her hands on her hips. Her eyes were narrowed and her nose, scrunched. _

_He chuckled at how impossibly cute she looked right now. Not thinking clearly, he said, "You look cute. Really cute."_

_"Exac – what?" She stared at him in thorough confusion. "You've certainly had a lot of alcohol tonight."_

_"Nope, believe it or not, I just had my first drink of the evening," he replied back solemnly. He wasn't lying, again. He wasn't the least bit intoxicated. Yet, tonight he somehow managed to say things he couldn't ever imagine saying._

_Haley wanted to retort back before deciding not to. She muttered a quick 'whatever' before she turned to walk towards the back door again. The chaos inside was definitely better than the weirdness she was experiencing outside. Just as she walked an inch forward, Nathan held her hand and said something that would shock the two of them. "Stay."_

_He was surprised at his words. He didn't want to stay with Haley James but he didn't want her to go either it was as though the five-year old in him was torn up between ice-cream and basketball. And he knew, in this case, what Haley was. _

_She turned around, shocked. Her mouth was wide open before she abruptly shut it. Never before had Nathan made such a request to her. And the warm feeling from the point of contact of their flesh traveled down into the pit of her stomach. _

Don't read too much into it, Haley. Just take a walk. Alone. With him. Alone. With him. _Haley shook her mind. _Stupid conflicted thoughts!

_Seeing Nathan's torn face, she quickly nodded, not knowing why._

_He smiled and pulled her close. Bridging their fingers together, he tugged her hand before walking forward. The backyard was filled with people jumping into the pool and drinking away to their glory and making out randomly. So, he decided to walk towards the beach. It wasn't far away considering the party was _in_ his beach house. _

_The entire path was filled with a comfortable silence as the two teenagers walked hand-in-hand. She stopped when they were right in front of the waves. _

_"I've never seen the beach at night," she whispered. She gazed in awe at the black waved crashing right before her as they made a pleasing rhythmic sound. _

_"It is beautiful," he agreed. _

_She, unknowingly, grasped his hand tighter when the cool water washed her feet. _

_"Why aren't you there? Not in the mood for it?" she suddenly asked, facing him. _

_He sighed. He knew he owed her an answer. "Dad said that I wasn't good enough in today's game." He freed his hand from hers and ran it through his hair. _

_She felt the absence of his hand. "I'm no basketball fan. But wasn't your shot the winning point for your team?" _

_He nodded. "It was. Apparently, my average in this game was worse than that of my previous one. He wants me to practice at five tomorrow morning. I even threw this party out of spite." He paused for a second. "You want to know the worst part? I can't help but feel guilty about it."_

_Haley clasped his hand with hers and brought her other hand to his face. She turned him towards her, forcing him to look at her. Those deep blue eyes were full of frustration and sadness that they made her feel his pain. And she wanted to do nothing but take the pain away from him. _

_"Listen to me, Nathan. You were great today. You had me cheering for you – I was probably chanting your name the loudest. You played so well today. And I know that your mom, your brother, your teammates and even Whitey were proud of you. Don't let anyone take that happiness away."_

_He rubbed his thumb on her hand in appreciation. That had to be the most heart-warming speech anyone had ever given to him about his game. And it all came from Haley. _

_He couldn't let the moment go away. _

_He smiled at her once again before leaning down slowly. Clasping her other hand with his, he placed them at their sides. He heard her breath hitch slightly as she slowly closed her eyes. In one swift motion, he captured her lips. Their lips initially moved rhythmically against each other – like the waves – and then picked up the pace, forcing their tongues to clash against each other. _

_Haley let go of her hands and brought them around his neck, clasping them at the base of his neck. Nathan clutched her hips tightly, not letting her go. _

_Just then, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Breaking away from the kiss, he hurriedly took his phone out and read the text. It was from Theresa – also known as the 'female equivalent of Nathan Scott'._

Meet me upstairs in five. You won't regret it.

_Nathan shoved the phone back inside his pocket. He looked at Haley who was currently flustered from the amazing kiss they just shared. Almost immediately, he felt like an asshole. He shouldn't have done it._

_"I need to go," he muttered quickly, before running towards the beach house. He didn't look back even once; because if he did, he would have definitely seen the tears cascading on Haley's cheeks. _

_She actually did think there was something in that kiss. _How could I be so naïve? It was Nathan Scott, after all! _She thought before slumping down on the sand, ignoring the coolness of the water._

_She sobbed into her palms – the wave of uncontrollable tears overwhelming her. She berated herself for being a fool._

_It was her first kiss. And Nathan Scott just ruined it. And right then she decided that she wasn't going to let him ruin anything else in her life. Never again was Nathan going to mess with her firsts. _

She couldn't believe that here she was – giving him a full-fledged permission to ruin her _first._ _Again._

Nathan looked up and locked his eyes with her in the mirror. "You alright?"

She didn't answer immediately. "Yes," she breathed out. "Everything is fine."

* * *

The doors of the car opened all at once. Lucas stared at the two adults in front of him. They both seemed equally nervous. Hell, so was he.

"Are you ready?"

Haley and Nathan nodded simultaneously.

"Okay, I'll join in later so that they don't understand," Lucas said, before turning around. "Good luck, guys." He walked towards the street leaving them behind.

Nathan breathed in deeply and closed his eyes for a while. He opened them to see Haley fidgeting with her ring.

"You ready, Hales?"

She turned towards him_. You've got one last chance to back out, Haley. Do it, _her brain instructed her.

She looked at him and nodded. "Let's do this."

He held her hand as they walked towards the door. Haley ignored the fact that he was holding her hand and knocked on the door. The door opened a few minutes later to reveal Karen, smiling cheerfully at the two.

"Haley, it has been ages." She wanted to say more but halted abruptly. "Why - why are you holding Nathan's hand?"

"Is Dad here? There's something the two of us need to tell the both of you."

"But –"

"I'll explain everything."

Karen ushered them inside before shouting out her husband's name. A minute later, Dan arrived from his library and walked towards the three of them. Before he could ask anything, Nathan cleared his throat.

"There's an announcement I need to make," he said, looking at his parents. Haley scooted closer to her husband to avoid the impending gaze on the two of them.

Nathan smiled at her briefly, holding her hand tighter. "Mom, Dad," he paused. This was it. Now or never. "Meet my wife."

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**A/N: Thank you to all those who have followed and favourit****_ed_**** this. :)**

**And the reviewers - thanks for taking the time to leave a review. (GottaluvNaley, l . bergin94 and the guest reviewers). Please keep reading this story and sending in your opinions. They matter a ton.**

**Considering the situation, I honestly felt that the wedding was better in the town hall with the signing of documents and all - but, I'm not really sure if what I wrote was right (in terms of the technicality of the town hall thing) though; please tell me if that part was okay or not.**

**And now, we know that Naley surely didn't have their first kiss on their "wedding" day, thanks to that little flashback event. Also... Dan knows about the marriage! Let the madness begin. ;)**

**Please do keep me posted on your thoughts.**


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